Are You Being Bullied or Abused On Twitter?

Are You Being Bullied or Abused On Twitter?

Let’s face it, folks, this happens and there are so many people who are the victims of bullying and abuse on Twitter, it can be a horrible sensation and something that you never really want to happen to you.

The majority of the time when you are being bullied on Twitter the first thing you think is, “Why Me? What have I done?”

I’ve had this myself recently, someone started joining in with someone else on what can only be described as a “vendetta”

I’m just a blogger, I go to events, films, theatre and more, come home and write about them, I’ve been doing this for nearly 7 years and people enjoy what I do, so why would anyone start jumping in at me, yes I am the owner of several Twitter accounts which are run by a collection of people who use them to tweet as part of an ongoing network and by the people who I have built websites for, so what!

But to have a go and say I’m tweeting myself and then pick on the blog and myself, is ridiculous, I suppose even bad publicity is good publicity in its own bizarre way, but thanks to some amazing friends, I was given some great advice on what to do with these atrocious little creatures known as Twitter Trolls.

1. Ignore Their Tweets

This is some advice I got from a lot of my friends and it is great advice, if some little troll is trying to get you into an argument or starting to say horrible things in a way of trying to hurt you, ignore them, carry on as normal and just forget about their attempts to pull you into a full blown Twitter War, yes it can be hard to ignore them, even when you know they are doing it and even worse when you know who they are, but then there is step 2!

2. Block The Trolls

It’s simple and quick, head on over to their profile and hit that lovely “block” option, now that you have blocked them it will stop them from following you and replying to your tweets, ahh a breath of fresh air from the stench of the lower bowls of the trolls dominion. Let them fester in their own world of worthless loathing. You don’t have to block people, but when it all gets a bit too much it is a great remedy for a bit of piece of mind.

3. Protect Your Account and Go Private

Not an option I personally like, but it is a bit of a last resort when it comes to your Twitter accounts tweets, by setting your Twitter accounts settings to private, only those that you allow will see your tweets, these are those that you follow and they follow back. But, the downside of this option is that if you want to promote your Twitter or website, then you are limiting your audience, so as I say a bit of a last resort when it comes to your Twitter settings.

4. Hit That Report Button and Report them to Twitter

Thankfully Twitter has taken huge steps in helping you battle against the Twitter Trolls and they have a harassment and violent policy page where you can report the nasty little Twitter Troll to twitter when the bullying and abuse have just gone that bit too far.

Twitter Takes Threats Seriously

If you believe you are in physical danger, contact the local law enforcement authorities who have the tools to address the issue.

If you decide to work with law enforcement, make sure to do the following:

document the violent or abusive messages with printouts or screenshots

be as specific as possible about why you are concerned

provide any context you have around who you believe might be involved, such as evidence of abusive behaviour found on other websites

provide any information regarding previous threats you may have received

Today, we've made policy and product updates aimed at combating abuse. Read about them here: https://t.co/y9EwJXPNaf

I do take screenshots of abusive tweets for reference when reporting them to Twitter, tweeps can delete tweets and by then it’s too late, so soon as you see then grab them with a screenshot, even if you are on your mobile phone as most phones do have the option to screen grab.

Also reach out to family and close friends, as I did, they are a wonderful bunch of people and will be there to offer moral support and help you to sort things out.

5. Report The Troll To The Company They Work For

Now if you know that the Twitter Troll works for a company, you can report them to the company for the abuse that you have been getting from them. Email the company with the Twitter users name and Twitter username, remember to supply screenshots of any tweets that you have received direct or indirect. What company wants bad publicity from someone who can be so abusive and horrible to their fellow humans via social media!

6. Leave Twitter (Not Recommended)

This is the very last resort and unless you really can’t cope with any of the nastiness that is happening and in the off chance that Twitter has decided you are not being harassed, then you can close your account, which I have known people to do, but why should you leave something because of some tiny minded people that just have nothing better to do with their time that hate other people!

I do hope those tips have helped you out. Have you ever been the victim of a Twitter Troll? If you have been affected by them, how did you deal with them?

Karen Woodham is the founder and owner of the Blazing Minds. She is also a Cinema reviewer, based at the Scala in Prestatyn and at the many Cineworld screens, where she reviews the latest movies, she has also had several articles published in various publications. In 2015 she became an Award Winning Blogger and also has her website listed as one of the UK's Top 10 Film Blogs.